Professor Suffers Brain Injury After Assault, Faces Long Recovery

November 10, 2016

(Reno-Gazette-Journal) – Ivy Antonowitsch played one of her longtime boyfriend’s favorite movies in his hospital room, but she wasn’t expecting much of a reaction from him. For her, the biggest miracle was her boyfriend laughing at the funny parts in "Galaxy Quest" – something that shows her that he’s still there.

After being in a coma for 15 days, 68-year-old Truckee Meadows Community College English professor Henry “Hank” Sosnowski had a long recovery time ahead of him.

According to Reno police, Sosnowski and Antonowitsch were walking downtown on South Virginia Street around 10:30 p.m. Sept. 1 when they saw 26-year-old Juan Rodriguez tagging graffiti. Sosnowski asked Rodriguez to stop, the two argued and Rodriguez allegedly struck Sosnowski, causing him to fall and hit his head, police said.

Sosnowski suffered massive brain damage, and had to have part of his skull removed due to the swelling. “He’s got a long, long journey,” Antonowitsch said. “I tell people he’s climbing Mt. Everest and he’s only gone 40 paces. Not everybody gets to the top, and there’s certainly no shame in that. At this point, it’s just so early and the brain is such a mysterious thing.” CONTINUE